I submitted this query to two people who are decidedly smarter than me, to see if I could stump them. Tell me what ya'll think. (Don't operate heavy machinery within 24 hours of reading this, because you'll probably get dizzy.)
Kip,
I just finished reading A Brief History of Time by that gambling buddy of yours, Dr. Hawking, and came up with a thought experiment that made me scratch my head. He mentions in a couple of instances how unfortunate it would be for an astronaut to be sucked into a black hole, and I was initially inclined to agree with him.
However, even though I don't see a way to survive such a trip, I'm not sure it's possible to die from it either. From a quantum theological perspective, if one is sucked into a black hole and spaghettified beyond all recognition, is his soul able to escape? If not, then there is no way for him or her to reach Heaven, Hell, or Purgatory; he's essentially in limbo for all eternity. Of course, if you can't separate your soul from your corpse, then you can't be sure you're dead.
Ergo, poltergeists could conceivably exist, although they can't do much spooking if they can't escape the black hole. QED.
My head hurts, but I'm just a mere mortal. What do you think? Is the hapless astronaut doomed to be undead forever (although his conception of time in his place of rest is a whole other headache)? Or does the soul eject at the last instant and allow the corporeal components to be compacted into oblivion?
I'm losing sleep over this, Kip, and if you can't answer this paranormal paradox, I'm gonna have to start my own Theogravitational cult.
Thanks,
Oscar J. Carlton IV
Theoretical Engineer and Applied Metaphysicist
Red Necktologies
P.S. Maybe you could consider having NASA sprinkle your ashes into the first event horizon we manage to reach with a probe. Seems fitting, don't you think?
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From asking the same question of David Brin, one of his fans answerd me thus:
"Frank said...
@ojc:
The nature of the 'soul' has not been described sufficiently neither by science nor by religion. Your question is therefore impossible to answer.
Try drinking warm milk before you go to bed."
That guy must be a load of fun at parties.
Another answer from brin's blog:
"Nate said...
When you fall into a black hole, doesn't time seem to slow down for you? So I'm not sure it'd be possible to actually die that way, you'd just have an eternity of feeling yourself being ripped apart that paused at the event horizon. Which would suck.
Although, can't information escape black holes, after all? So if the soul's information, it could escape, albeit garbled and quantumed."
Now we're getting somewhere
Regarding the question of describing/defining the soul sufficiently... Well, I never could get into "The Interior Castle" by St. Teresa of Avila (it's always rambling and digressing) but it's a philosophy book about the structure of the soul. The soul is like a castle made entirely of diamond. In this castle there are many rooms. God is at the center. The book describes a journey into the castle, saying things like: "In the seventh chamber of the castle you will be assaulted by demons, but do not fear, for this means you are getting closer and closer to God." Kind of like Catholic Dungeons & Dragons. Not sure how this applies to your question. When I was a kid I used to fantasize about being shot out into space inside a hollow diamond sphere. Drifting all alone and perfectly safe in my armored bubble. But would it protect me from black holes? Surely St. Teresa would know...
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